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Focused on the international community's response to the conflict in Syria, this is a book about the inexorable quest for justice, even in the face of seemingly impenetrable obstacles erected by actors intent on ensuring impunity. It features a number of creative ideas emerging from states and civil society actors intent on pursuing justice for atrocities in Syria
List of contents
- Dedication
- Abbreviations
- Forward and Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- Chapter 2. A Short History of a Long Conflict: From Revolution to Atrocity
- Chapter 3. The Security Council and International Crimes in Syria: A Study in Dysfunction
- Chapter 4. Deconstructing the Would-Be ICC Referral: The Politics of International Justice in the Security Council
- Chapter 5. Prospects for Justice before the International Criminal Court
- Chapter 6. A Menu of Models for Accountability: Options for an Ad Hoc Tribunal for Syria
- Chapter 7. National Courts Step Up: Syrian Cases Proceeding in Domestic Courts
- Chapter 8. Civil Suits: The Utility of State Responsibility and the Law of Tort
- Chapter 9. Innovations in International Criminal Law Documentation Methodologies and Institutions
- Chapter 10. Transitional Justice Without Transition: The International Community's Efforts in Syria
- Chapter 11. Conclusion
About the author
Beth Van Schaack is the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights at Stanford Law School where she teaches in the areas of international human rights, international criminal law, and human trafficking, and directs the Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic. Prior to returning to academia, she served as Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the U.S. Department of State under Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. In that capacity, she helped formulate U.S. policy regarding the prevention of and accountability for mass atrocities, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and worked extensively on the Syrian crisis. Prior to entering the academy, she was with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School,
Summary
Focused on the international community's response to the conflict in Syria, this is a book about the inexorable quest for justice, even in the face of seemingly impenetrable obstacles erected by actors intent on ensuring impunity. It features a number of creative ideas emerging from states and civil society actors intent on pursuing justice for atrocities in Syria
Additional text
Beth Van Schaack writes for the victims of the worst crimes of the 21st century who have refused to be overcome by weakness. She shows how Syrian survivors, with the help of supportive governments and NGOs, built the strongest body of evidence of a regime's criminal responsibility since Nuremberg, and opened pathways to justice around the vetoes and inaction of Great Powers. It is the story of what was once only imagined--a first-of-its-kind UN investigative mechanism, a surge in third country prosecutions, an increased willingness of states to join forces—leading on to a reality where perpetrators will never be free of the fear of arrest and trial.
